Big Canadian started out 8-80 off lefties.....20-50 since with .500slgg
Since July 1 (before today) 32gms .....43/128 (.336BAve w/.523slgg) 5hr 21rbi
finishes strong.....can we get something good for him this offseason???

The Rays are a small market team yet always seem to have better pitching than the Twins.

Is this a matter of better scouting, better player development or something else?

The Rays are a great organization and have done a fantastic job at almost every level.

But remember that their success is recent. They had a decade of picking in the top five every season. During that same period, the Twins rarely drafted higher than 15th. I'm not discounting the Rays' success but the real test will be their player development on the guys they draft when they had to pick 20th or later in the draft every June. Since Price was taken with the first overall pick in 2007, Tampa Bay has not had a drafted player contribute to their major league team. Not entirely unexpected but still something to consider.

The Rays are a small market team yet always seem to have better pitching than the Twins.

Is this a matter of better scouting, better player development or something else?

they've also focused on it...their regular lineup hasnt always been the greatest. Pieced the lineup together for the most part over their run....Crawford/Longo are/were ALL Stars, but other than that Madden has shown his brilliance by putting pieces together.

The Rays are a small market team yet always seem to have better pitching than the Twins.

Is this a matter of better scouting, better player development or something else?

they've also focused on it...their regular lineup hasnt always been the greatest. Pieced the lineup together for the most part over their run....Crawford/Longo are/were ALL Stars, but other than that Madden has shown his brilliance by putting pieces together.

But...but...managers make virtually no difference to the W-L record.../s(n)arc

The Rays are a small market team yet always seem to have better pitching than the Twins.

Is this a matter of better scouting, better player development or something else?

The Rays are a great organization and have done a fantastic job at almost every level.

But remember that their success is recent. They had a decade of picking in the top five every season. During that same period, the Twins rarely drafted higher than 15th. I'm not discounting the Rays' success but the real test will be their player development on the guys they draft when they had to pick 20th or later in the draft every June. Since Price was taken with the first overall pick in 2007, Tampa Bay has not had a drafted player contribute to their major league team. Not entirely unexpected but still something to consider.

I think it was the TV guys who mentioned coming into this series that the Rays take pride in developing their own and that they were on a streak of 234 consecutive games starting their own signed players.